EU countries seize $32B in Russian, Belarusian assets

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – EU member states have seized nearly €29.5 billion ($32 billion) in Russian and Belarusian assets, the European Commission announced on Friday.

More than half of the EU's 27 member countries have reported to the European Commission that they have begun implementing the bloc’s sanctions and have frozen assets belonging to Russian and Belarusian oligarchs, high-ranking officials and entities.

According to the European Commission's "Freeze and Seize Task Force" estimations, about €29.5 billion in assets has been frozen so far, including €6.7 billion in yachts, helicopters, real estate, and artwork.

A total of €196 billion (some $210 billion) in transactions have also been blocked.

Meanwhile, the EU task force met on Friday with counterparts from the UK, US and Ukraine to coordinate their work.

The EU has allocated €1 billion in military support and €500 million in humanitarian aid to Ukrainians, and slapped five sets of sanctions on Moscow since the beginning of the war on Feb. 24.

The restrictive measures targeted 1,002 individuals and 32 entities in total, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, oligarchs, and military officers.

The EU has also banned coal imports and luxury goods exports to Russia, as well as barring Russian and Belarusian banks from operating in the SWIFT international banking system.